


(un)steady

by MassiveSpaceWren



Category: Iron Man (Comics), Marvel 616, Winter Soldier (Comics)
Genre: Bucky Barnes Feels, Bucky Barnes Needs a Hug, Don’t copy to another site, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fix-It of Sorts, Gen, Gen or Pre-Slash, Hurt Bucky Barnes, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Post-Canon, Pre-Slash, Tony Stark Is a Good Bro, Winter Soldier Vol. 2 (2018)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-11
Updated: 2019-04-11
Packaged: 2020-01-11 21:06:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 697
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18432104
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MassiveSpaceWren/pseuds/MassiveSpaceWren
Summary: Bucky goes on missions and gets the job done, as always. He’sfine. Coming back home shouldn’t be much of a problem.Luckily, he doesn’t have to be alone.~~~A tiny ficlet dealing with how Winter Soldier #5 ended.





	(un)steady

**Author's Note:**

> Also done for the BuckyBarnesBingo square "Mission gone wrong"

Bucky stopped the motorbike, listening to the surroundings. It was late at night, the neighbourhood was quiet and his own house was just as serene. But something was off. Bucky pulled out his gun and snuck up to his own front door. He stepped inside, alert and on edge, looking for whoever had decided to break in.

He rounded the corner to the kitchen-

and lowered his gun. Inside, a familiar shape stood looking into his fridge.

"Tony. What are you doing here?" Bucky asked. He sank down onto a chair, all his energy suddenly gone. No fight coming, no clear direction to go. He was just so damn tired.

"Thought you might want a tune-up," Tony replied, a sly grin tugging at his mouth.

Bucky just sank down further. He opened his mouth, to banter back, or to make a joke, but no words came out. Finally, he sighed. "I... I just can't do this tonight. Can't deal with this. Can you just ... leave..."

Tony sat down on the chair by his side, the grin fallen off his face as quickly as it came.

"Look, I know I’m shit at emotions and stuff like this." Tony's voice was quiet, but still loud in the silent room. "But dealing with things while not alone is sometimes better."

Bucky sighed again and pinched the bridge of his nose. He wasn't hurt. He wasn't. He was just annoyed. "I'm _fine_ ," he ground out. "I'm back from helping another guy out of HYDRA, I'm doing what I did before. Everything is normal. I'm home, I'm fine. I just need to-" He got up took off his holster and the gloves. "I need to have some space, and some free time, just get something to eat, set up laundry-" He stomped through the hallway and pushed his shoes off, then walked on into the living room. "Also need to get groceries, it's been a few days, probably cat food, and-" Bucky slumped down to the sofa. "Fuck. I still need to put the bike into the garage." He let his face sink into his hands, braced his elbows on his thighs and groaned. "I guess I should do that now." But his legs wouldn't move.

Bucky sat, just a moment, gathering strength to stand up again. He would get up any second.

The clatter from a plate being set down in front of him made him startle and look up.

"Here, I made a sandwich. Don't look at me like that, it's edible." Tony put a glass down beside the plate before slumping onto the sofa next to him. "Since you're back from your mission you can probably use some food. And since you were, you know," Tony gestured to Bucky's general form, sitting on the couch, "Sitting. Having a well deserved break. I put the bike in the garage and locked everything up."

Bucky chewed the sandwich distractedly. How long had he been sitting here? The food seemed gone in no time, too.

Tony cleared his throat. "Hey, how about I sleep over? It's already so late-"

"Look, you don't have to hover around me," Bucky growled. "It's all fine. It's been a week since RJ-” he struggled to swallow past the lump in his throat, “- _left_. I'm doing the work I normally do. It's all normal."

Tony just sat next to him, silently.

Finally Bucky heaved a breath and when he looked down, he realized his hands were shaking. The burning in his throat only got worse until hot tears ran down his cheeks. He grit his teeth. As if that would ward off the onslaught of feelings that welled up inside him.

Tony put a warm hand on his back, and a moment later he found himself clinging to Tony, shaking and crying, and unable to stop.

"I know you can do what you have to. I also know what it's like to finally come home and be alone with your thoughts at night." Tony embraced him, arms wrapping around him securely. His voice lowered to a whisper. "It's okay not to be okay immediately."

Bucky buried his face in Tony's shirt and held on for dear life.

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this pretty much immediately after reading the comic, and I was sad. So, here, have some feels?
> 
> If you also like comic based Winteriron, join us at our discord server: https://discord.gg/Fb2pJrR


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